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Thu, 08 Feb 2018 16:28:15 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.2Reverse the Perspective: It’s Time to Track the Development of Embodied Technologies and their Creatorshttp://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/reverse-the-perspective-its-time-to-track-the-development-of-embodied-technologies-and-their-creators/
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 16:56:45 +0000http://www.decimallab.ca/?p=673Andrew Iliadis and Isabel Pedersen The term “wearables” has always been something of a misnomer. In tech circles, the term usually refers to things like fitness monitoring devices or smart glasses; we don’t tend to think of involuntary tracking technologies, like ankle bracelets or workplace tracking devices, as wearables. Wearables don’t accurately describe concepts like implanted and bionic technology, but… Read more →]]>Andrew Iliadis and Isabel Pedersen

The term “wearables” has always been something of a misnomer. In tech circles, the term usually refers to things like fitness monitoring devices or smart glasses; we don’t tend to think of involuntary tracking technologies, like ankle bracelets or workplace tracking devices, as wearables. Wearables don’t accurately describe concepts like implanted and bionic technology, but that is often the intention. Popularized during the public frenzy around Google Glass and the ensuing wearable boom, body-centered technologies are often framed as technology-enabled solutions for everything from sickness and health to pet monitoring and security.

As researchers who investigate the ethical, cultural, and political implications of different forms of body-augmenting technology — something we like to call “embodied technology” — we have been interested in reversing the perspective and looking closely at those working to create embodied technologies, and the underlying motivations that inform development. A widely-shared piece by Ethan Zuckerman on the pitfalls of using virtual reality devices in prisons rightly pointed out that those working to develop embodied technologies are prone to “working on the wrong problem.” Embodied technologies are often offered as solutions to one problem when larger problems persist.

Tech developed for profit will often build technologies and look for multiple applications — a version of the well-known dictum “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Academically-backed development is different in that it (not always, but often) starts from a problem and then thinks about a solution.

Embodied technologies and the multiple narratives of technological progress are not new. In 1961, Claude Shannon and Edward Thorpe (both mathematicians and colleagues at MIT) engineered an ingenious device that could be placed in a shoe in order to cheat at roulette. Thorp described the process in a 1998 paper, boldly titled “The Invention of the First Wearable Computer.” The goal was to track the ball over periods of time, from the croupier’s launch to its eventual resting location after spattering through the moving rotor. To do this, Thorp and Shannon considered a variety of designs before eventually settling on a computer which had “twelve transistors and was the size of a pack of cigarettes.” The wearable worked by inputting data with the user’s big toe via microswitches. Eventually, authorities were notified of the mathematician’s cheat and on May 30th, 1985 a law was passed in Nevada that prohibited the use of wearables in Casinos, one of the first instances where a piece of wearable tech influenced law.

As we make demands on embodied technologies, those technologies will influence law and policy; depending on one’s level of abstraction, they can also frame narratives of technological progress.

We developed The Fabric of Digital Life (FABRIC) to track the development of embodied technologies and to create a space for realizing narratives around technological progress and society. FABRIC is asking: how can we help the public understand and track these embodied technologies as they grow in importance?

FABRIC is an online digital archive for storing media related to embodied technologies — things like patents, news releases, instructional videos, and art. The archive allows users to track, catalog, and view artifacts related to human-computer interaction platforms, designs, and ideas, including images, videos, texts, websites, and data sets that document emerging trends. Curated sub-collections are hosted on the archive that relate to a variety of themes, including ethics, surveillance, and vulnerable populations.

The underlying motivation is to provide a tool for illustrating the diverse, shared origins of embodied technology platforms, separate from profit-driven inventors and companies. A secondary motivation was to provide a space for thinking about social issues and embodied technologies. The archive allows users to browse keywords (“smart watch” for example) and through a customized metadata scheme users can collect and catalogue embodied technologies and the discourse that surrounds them.

Currently, our hope is that researchers who have interests in embodied technologies will begin to use the archive, add to it, and help build the specially curated collections that are inside to highlight the various ways that embodied technologies stand to impact society and culture.

]]>Keynote Speech by Jane McGonigal Inspires New Questions and Ideas for Kids, Creative Storyworlds and Wearables Researchhttp://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/keynote-speech-by-jane-mcgonigal-inspires-new-questions-and-ideas-for-kids-creative-storyworlds-and-wearables-research/
Wed, 13 Apr 2016 17:46:15 +0000http://www.decimallab.ca/?p=600By Bridgette Atkins On March 23rd and 24th, I attended the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario’s 6th annual Transitions conference at the Royal York hotel with Dr. Shirley Van Nuland of the Faculty of Education. Dr. Jane McGonigal provided the keynote speech on the second morning of the conference. I was inspired by so many aspects of her talk… Read more →]]>By Bridgette Atkins

On March 23rd and 24th, I attended the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario’s 6th annual Transitions conference at the Royal York hotel with Dr. Shirley Van Nuland of the Faculty of Education. Dr. Jane McGonigal provided the keynote speech on the second morning of the conference. I was inspired by so many aspects of her talk – from her relaxed yet passionate approach to delivering her speech before a large banquet hall of conference attendees, to her well-designed slides, to her story of designing a wildly successful Find the Future game commissioned by the New York Public Library to attract the interest of youth.

The conference Twitter feed was abuzz with musings about what we could learn from the global obsession with games like Candy Crush Saga, bringing a ‘gameful mindsight’ to education, and a number of other insightful quotes from Jane. I couldn’t type fast enough to record all the gems of information that were coming out of this talk. The empowering element of game play that Jane reiterated – repeating the mantra that gamers are ‘super-empowered, hopeful individuals’ – resonated with me and seems to align well with the Mosaic approach to ethnography we will employ as we explore children’s creative ideas about wearable technology through their own stories and artwork. This talk brought a few questions to mind such as: ‘How might young children be empowered by the use of wearable technology?’ And, ‘Will young children share any stories of how they might be empowered by wearables in the Kids, Creative Storyworlds and Wearables project?’

In her talk, Jane also made mention of the late Brian Sutton-Smith, a prominent play theorist. She shared a quote from Sutton-Smith that caught my attention and the attention of many fellow conference attendees: ‘The opposite of play isn’t work; it’s depression’. I have since been intrigued by Sutton-Smith’s work and how it might relate to where children’s imaginations may take them while using wearables. I look forward to bringing aspects of his and Jane’s work into the Kids, Creative Storyworlds and Wearables project and am grateful to have had the opportunity to hear Jane speak.

]]>Q&A with Kirsten Ellison – Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Calgaryhttp://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/qa-with-kirsten-ellison-ph-d-candidate-at-the-university-of-calgary/
Tue, 19 Jan 2016 16:17:41 +0000http://www.decimallab.ca/?p=519Attending a conference for the first time as an academic can be a little daunting for students – and being there as a presenter can be even more nerve-wracking. Kirsten Ellison, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary, recently presented a paper at the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) conference in Denver last year.… Read more →]]>Attending a conference for the first time as an academic can be a little daunting for students – and being there as a presenter can be even more nerve-wracking. Kirsten Ellison, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary, recently presented a paper at the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) conference in Denver last year. Often called 4S, it is one of the oldest societies that focuses on studying and understanding science and technology as it relates to social science. The society includes members from many social science disciplines, as well as scientists and engineers who are interested in studying the social aspect of their fields.

Check out our Q&A with academic Kirsten Ellison who answers questions about what it was like presenting at the 4S conference last year.

Shelly: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your research.

Kirsten: I am a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in Communication & Cultural Studies at the University of Calgary and my current doctoral research looks at our imagined futures of agelessness. So, from a communications angle, within the context of new developments in anti-aging technology, my research asks: how do we imagine a future without age/aging? What will it mean to be ageless? How will we get there? This project stemmed from my MA thesis, which looked at the discursive construction of agelessness in anti-aging skin care ads. Dr. Isabel Pedersen was my supervisor on this project. Alongside this research, I have also been working with Dr. Barbara Marshall and Dr. Stephen Katz at Trent University as a graduate associate of Trent University’s Centre for Aging and Society. Our current work interrogates the notion of ‘quantified aging’ within the context of wearable and self-tracking devices marketed specifically to older adults.

Shelly: What was it like attending and presenting at the 4S conference in Denver and what were you presenting?

Kirsten: The paper that I presented at 4S was based on a research project that I conducted with Dr. Pedersen, which looked at the rhetorical strategies employed in the mainstream news coverage of Google X’s smart contact lenses to create a palatable place for them in our symbolic landscape of digital technology.

This was my second 4S conference and it is definitely one of my favourite associations that I am a member of. The community is tight-knit and yet very welcoming to outsiders and very willing to offer constructive feedback and insight into your topic from a very genuine place of support rather than critique. The panels are always well attended and followed by lively discussions.

Shelly: What was your favourite presentation that you saw while you were at the conference?

Kirsten: I can’t say that I have one. It was very difficult to choose between panels to attend.

Shelly: What kind of preparation did you have to do for your presentation?

Kirsten: I prepared as most academics would – I wrote out my presentation based on the research paper Dr. Pedersen and I wrote and prepared a PowerPoint slide for it. I did this at least a week in advance so I had time to go over the presentation enough times so that I could ad lib as I went. I also made sure I was well within the time limit.

Shelly: What advice would you give to someone who is interested in presenting a research paper or project at a conference?

Kirsten: I would say to not wing it!

]]>Five Tips to Prioritize Study Habitshttp://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/five-tips-to-prioritize-study-habits/
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 18:22:37 +0000http://www.decimallab.ca/?p=482As college and university students settle into midterm assignments for the school year, they will be depending on a bundle of devices that would have been science fiction a mere decade ago. Gone are the days of sending students to school with notebooks, binders, and highlighters; parents are now expected to equip their kids with tech for everything from note-taking… Read more →]]>As college and university students settle into midterm assignments for the school year, they will be depending on a bundle of devices that would have been science fiction a mere decade ago. Gone are the days of sending students to school with notebooks, binders, and highlighters; parents are now expected to equip their kids with tech for everything from note-taking to interacting with classmates and participating in valuable exercises. These devices offer an exciting opportunity for educators and students to improve their experience, but they can also be pitfalls of distraction and disengagement.

Having studied emerging technologies and their effects on everyday life for a long time, the only thing I can say for certain is that the growing presence of technology in our daily lives requires constant adjustment and reflection. Today’s students have automatic citizenship to the digital world, and it’s important that we keep up with new developments to enrich the quality of education in our post-secondary schools.

Here are some tips to help students and educators make the best of their technology this school year and in years to come.

1. TURN OFF TO TUNE IN

Help students prioritize their use of technology. Common texting and browsing already pose enough of a threat, but apps like Snapchat and Periscope that revolve around instant interaction can establish “always on” practices, where they feel compelled to engage in communication.

When teachers are left to compete with digital distractions, the educational experience is diluted and it is the students who suffer. As wearable and augmented reality tech like the Apple Watch becomes more popular, it will be important for educators and parents to teach students about using these devices responsibly and constructively.

2. APPS THAT HELP PRODUCTIVITY, NOT HINDER IT

Students can often be their own worst enemies when it comes to procrastination. To reduce a student’s digital distractions, there are dozens of so-called ‘productivity apps’ that can help students learn effectively. ClearFocus and Forest are simple tools to help students track their studying time.

3. CONNECTED CLASSROOM

There are also apps and websites to help educators organize their lessons and interact with students. In addition to TED Talks and the Zite app, which offer access to unique and engaging educational content, less-popular programs StudyBlue and edmodo can help keep the class connected even after they’ve left the classroom with ongoing discussions and bonus activities.

4. SEEK OUT TECH-TORIALS

Many educators are held back by the high cost of adopting new technologies. To close this gap, tech enthusiasts have begun organizing community gatherings, or “makerspaces,” where beginners and experts can share and explore cutting-edge tech like Raspberry Pi computers, Adruinos, laser cutters and even 3D printers. Codecademy.com provides simple tutorials in an array of major programming languages that can track your progress from beginner to expert, while the Khan Academy offers self-guided lessons and exercises curated from experts of all disciplines.

5. RISE OF THE ‘INTELLIGENT TUTOR’

Along with the advent of new devices will come new approaches and shifting paradigms. As technology allows for more diverse and individualized teaching methods, educators are re-evaluating the one-size-fits-all approach that has dominated in the past.

Adaptive learning technologies, or “intelligent tutors,” are platforms that help analyze a student’s study habits and workflow to identify problem areas and alter the curriculum accordingly. These programs would be most effective in a “flipped classroom” environment, where class time is spent performing group-based cognitive thinking exercises and the knowledge retention is saved for homework. While the tech is currently several years away from being widely available, companies like Knewton, SmartSparrow and Cerego are all developing adaptive learning platforms for all levels of education.

]]>Decimal Lab Presents iMind in Osaka, Japanhttp://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/decimal-lab-presents-imind-in-osaka-japan/
Tue, 13 Oct 2015 16:52:37 +0000http://www.decimallab.ca/?p=448On September 2, 2015 the Decimal Lab team, Dr. Isabel Pedersen, and students Nathan Gale (graduate student), Cameron Nicoll (undergrad student), and Samantha Reid (UOIT alumni and research manager) embarked on their Japan Odyssey. Flying halfway around the world to conduct field research, forge international connections, present their iMind technology project at the International Symposium of Wearable Computing (ISWC) Design… Read more →]]>On September 2, 2015 the Decimal Lab team, Dr. Isabel Pedersen, and students Nathan Gale (graduate student), Cameron Nicoll (undergrad student), and Samantha Reid (UOIT alumni and research manager) embarked on their Japan Odyssey. Flying halfway around the world to conduct field research, forge international connections, present their iMind technology project at the International Symposium of Wearable Computing (ISWC) Design Exhibition, they learnt as much as they could about emerging technologies in the nine days they had.

ISWC ran from three jam-packed days allowing for the Decimal Lab team to have endless

Grand Front Osaka

opportunities to collect information and learn from the various presenters. However, the highlight of this event for us was demoing iMind, our arts-based brain interface and app at the design exhibition. It was, after all, the reason we had flown half way around the world. The exhibit was held in the impressive Grand Front Osaka Complex.

We couldn’t have asked for a better space to hold an event such as this one. The lighting was subdued, the floors were hardwood, the stage held a screen running all of the videos that had been submitted, and every exhibit had a booth with a banner featuring their project.

Photo by Cameron Nicoll

The next two hours in that room were a blur of people coming in to test out iMind; ask questions about the program, the project, the objective; and made conversation about where we were from and what we did as a research lab. The overall result of the exhibition was better than anything we could have hoped for. Having never demoed phase four of this project before the response to it was extremely positive. Many were excited to see that we had taken on a project such as this, and some even saw similarities between it and science fiction/animation references from their childhoods. And as the design exhibition came to a close we had to apologize to individuals who still wanted to try out iMind because we had to pack it up.

The design exhibition was filled with many talented individuals demoing their devices and Nathan Gale had the unique opportunity to talk and network with all of them while the rest of the team ran the booth. He collected business cards, made meaningful connections, and even tried on devices. This exhibition really highlighted what we have been focusing on so much at Decimal Lab: the interdisciplinary nature of these emerging technologies. There was an evident crossover between fashion, healthcare, entertainment, communication, culture, and art, which were all influenced by technological advancements to create the items featured at this exhibition.

All in all our journey to Japan was awe inspiring, educational, provided meaningful connections, opened doors for future collaborations/projects, and provided prospective on a culture that accepts technological advancements rather than fears them.

]]>Decimal Lab visits Tokyo, Japanhttp://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/decimal-lab-visits-tokyo-japan/
Tue, 13 Oct 2015 16:45:51 +0000http://www.decimallab.ca/?p=444Visit to the Embassy The first location of interest to the Decimal Lab while visiting Tokyo was the Canadian Embassy. Before venturing to Japan, Dr. Isabel Pedersen had made contact with Counsellor and Senior Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy in Japan in order to set up a meeting while we were in the country. He was kind enough to accommodate… Read more →]]>

Photo by Cameron Nicoll

Visit to the Embassy

The first location of interest to the Decimal Lab while visiting Tokyo was the Canadian Embassy. Before venturing to Japan, Dr. Isabel Pedersen had made contact with Counsellor and Senior Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy in Japan in order to set up a meeting while we were in the country. He was kind enough to accommodate us at the Embassy on September 4th where we met with him and another Trade Commissioner. The Decimal Lab had the unique opportunity to talk with Embassy Trade Commissioners about the commercialization possibilities for two of our current projects, the marketability of our research, the institutions that could be interested in collaboration at an international level, and the industries that would be interested in working with us should the projects expand past their “proof of concept” phase. This meeting was extremely beneficial to the Decimal Lab team in order to expand governmental, institutional, and industry connections at an international level. Forging this connection with the Trade Commissioners at the Canadian Embassy, especially in a country so technologically situated as Japan, was very important to the Decimal Lab team.

Visit to Miraikan

The Decimal Lab team planned to visit Miraikan: National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. Getting to this museum proved to be more of a challenge then we had originally anticipated. It took two subway trains and a monorail, but we made it to the island at the coast where Miraikan is housed. Right next door to it we were pleased to find the National Institute for Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. Japan as a nation is constantly striving for innovation and forward thinking; however, they do not forget their cultural or historical roots and are constantly reflecting on what has been done and where they come from. So it was not surprising to find an institute of higher learning focused on science and technology next to a museum documenting the milestones that Japan has made in this area.

Photo by Cameron Nicoll

Miraikan is a seven-floor museum with conference rooms; a dome theatre and a virtual reality theatre; and several research areas. Within this building we saw many of Japan’s greatest technological advancements: from breakthroughs in medicine to space travel to androids and robots. Several cutting-edge exhibits contributed to the museum’s emphasis on innovation. The most popular being Geo-Cosmos, the symbol exhibit of Miraikan, which produces a rendition of the Earth shining brightly in space with a super high precision exceeding 10 million pixels. It is the world’s first “Globe-like display” using organic LED panels. This visit allowed the Decimal Lab team to gather important field research for the Fabric of Digital Life Archive as well as experience unique technologies that are currently not available in Canada.

]]>WeAreWearables was a success for the Decimal Labhttp://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/wearewearables-was-a-success-for-the-decimal-lab/
Fri, 17 Apr 2015 16:47:52 +0000http://www.decimallab.ca/?p=244On April 9th, 2015, the Decimal Lab participated in the WeAreWearables conference which was hosted by Tom Emrich at the MaRs Discovery District. During the event, many of our lab members demoed the technology that we have been hard at work developing in the lab such as our iMind project and META Museum. Our lab members were extremely happy with… Read more →]]>On April 9th, 2015, the Decimal Lab participated in the WeAreWearables conference which was hosted by Tom Emrich at the MaRs Discovery District. During the event, many of our lab members demoed the technology that we have been hard at work developing in the lab such as our iMind project and META Museum.

Our lab members were extremely happy with the number of guests who visited our booth at the event and gave the technology a try. We really enjoyed talking to the event goers and we are extremely thankful for the opportunity to be involved in the event. With that in mind, we would like to extend a huge thank you to Tom Emrich for the opportunity to demo our technology at the event. It was a wonderful experience and we look forward to future events!

]]>Isabel Pedersen to speak at We Are Wearables conferencehttp://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/isabel-pedersen-to-speak-at-we-are-wearables-conference/
http://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/isabel-pedersen-to-speak-at-we-are-wearables-conference/#respondWed, 04 Feb 2015 01:24:06 +0000http://www.decimallab.ca/?p=170Did you hear? The Decimal Lab’s own Dr. Isabel Pedersen spoke at the We Are Wearables conference on February 3, 2015 from 7pm-10pm. She participated in a panel discussing wearables for women from 7:30-8:00pm which was lead by Amanda Cosco. For more information regarding the agenda and event details, visit the We Are Wearables website! Read more →]]>Did you hear? The Decimal Lab’s own Dr. Isabel Pedersen spoke at the We Are Wearables conference on February 3, 2015 from 7pm-10pm. She participated in a panel discussing wearables for women from 7:30-8:00pm which was lead by Amanda Cosco.

]]>http://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/isabel-pedersen-to-speak-at-we-are-wearables-conference/feed/0Next stop: Toronto Wearables Meetuphttp://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/next-stop-toronto-wearables-meetup/
http://www.decimallab.ca/uncategorized/next-stop-toronto-wearables-meetup/#respondTue, 20 Jan 2015 03:29:56 +0000http://www.decimallab.ca/?p=157Dr. Isabel Pedersen of the Decimal Lab will be speaking at the Toronto Wearables Meetup which will be hosted by OCAD University on January 21, 2015. The meetup is a monthly occurrence which gives individuals who are interested in wearable technology a chance to network with professionals in the field. The Decimal Lab is honored to have a presence at the… Read more →]]>

Dr. Isabel Pedersen of the Decimal Lab will be speaking at the Toronto Wearables Meetup which will be hosted by OCAD University on January 21, 2015. The meetup is a monthly occurrence which gives individuals who are interested in wearable technology a chance to network with professionals in the field.

The Decimal Lab is honored to have a presence at the event and we are excited for what is in store at the event.